This invention relates to a panel body using helical wire members having high toughness and being excellent in impact resistance.
In biological tissues of living bodies such as bone, tendon and blood vessel, collagen filaments having a helical structure with flexibility constitute fibers for crests and troughs are united side by side. The biological tissue dispersedly supports an external force applied thereto on the helical slope of the collagen filaments united side by side, and exhibits high toughness. When some of the collagen filaments are damaged, the biological tissue exchanges the damaged collagen filaments with new ones, according to the metabolism, so as to maintain the tissue.
The inventor of this invention filed Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 8-290501, 8-291587 and 9-314709 on the basis of the helical structure of the collagen filaments, in particular. The technologies described in these Laid-Open Patent Publications propose building structures such as a post member, a wall member and a sheet member all of which combine helical wire members, can provide high toughness and can easily be repaired when a part of the structure is damaged. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 8-290501 and 8-291587 describe a helical structure obtained by uniting helical bodies, with their crests and troughs side by side, wherein each helical body is formed by winding in predetermined lead and predetermined pitch, wire members having a predetermined diameter into a shape such that a diameter of a helix is about twice the wire diameter, the crests and the troughs oppose one another or have substantially a similar shape, and the troughs are positioned outside from the center of the helix, or a helical structure wherein the helical bodies are wound in the same winding direction or are wound alternately. In the helical structure described above, Japanese unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-314709 proposes a helical structure by combining, vertically and transversely, helical wire members for a helical structure and forming a planar mesh, wherein the helical wire members can strongly fix or release the uniting state of the helical bodies, can exhibit a predetermined motion in accordance with an environmental change and can keep the size of the mesh constant.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a panel body that can be easily assembled by using the helical wire members described above and has an excellent working factor. It is another object of the present invention to provide a panel body by using helical wire members having high toughness and excellent impact resistance.
The first invention of the present invention provides a panel body using helical wire members, comprising a large number of helical wire members each obtained by helically winding, in a predetermined lead and pitch, a wire material having a predetermined outer diameter in such a fashion that a diameter of a helix is about twice the outer diameter of the wire material, crests and troughs of the wire material have substantially a similar shape and each of the troughs is positioned outside the center of the helix; a first fixing frame having first fixing bars fitted thereto, the first fixing bars being fitted with predetermined gaps to frame members opposing each other with a predetermined gap between them, and engaging with the troughs positioned on the side of one of the surfaces of the helical wire members; and a second fixing frame having second fixing bars fitted thereto, the second fixing bars being fitted with predetermined gaps to frame members fixed to the frame members of said first frame, engaging with the troughs on the other side surface side and fixing a large number of helical wire members.